You won’t find many games where two teammates not only homer, but also double TWICE in the same game; but that was the case for Rome as Eric Hartman and Isaiah Drake had stellar nights for the Emperors on Friday.
(23-13) Gwinnett Stripers 9, (13-23) Norfolk Tide 1 (GAME ONE)
- Jair Camargo, C: HR, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
- Brewer Hicklen, RF: HR, 3 RBI, R
- Rowdy Tellez, 1B: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
- Owen Murphy, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 6 K
Owen Murphy dominated while his offense put up nine runs in Gwinnett’s game one victory in Friday’s doubleheader.
Across 5.2 innings, Murphy allowed one run on four hits while striking out six batters in what was his second triple-A start of his professional career. As per our own
Gaurav Vedak’s report, Murphy’s fastball sat consistently in the 91-93 MPH range with a 19-21 induced vertical break on his heater.
It was a very impressive bounce back for Murphy after he allowed five runs in four innings pitched in his first triple-A start.
At the plate, Murphy got more than enough offensive support as the Stripers scored nine runs on 11 hits.
Jair Camargo had himself a game, homering and doubling twice in the process while driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice. Brewer Hicklen — more on him in game two — also had a three-run homer to his credit in the process.
Rowdy Tellez also chipped in by going 3-4 with a double and a pair of RBI in game one as well.
(23-14) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (14-23) Norfolk Tide 3 (GAME TWO)
- Brewer Hicklen, CF: 2-2, HR, 2 RBI, R, Sac Fly
- Nacho Alvarez Jr., 3B: 3-4
- Javy Guerra, SP: 3 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K
While the Stripers came away with a win in game one, things didn’t go quite as well in game two as Gwinnett lost by a narrow 3-2 final.
Javy Guerra got the start as the opener for Gwinnett in the doubleheader and he performed decently as he tossed three innings of one run ball while striking out three batters in the process.
The biggest issue for the Stripers in this one was offense, as Gwinnett only scored a pair of runs on seven hits.
A positive was Brewer Hicklen who hit a homer yet again in game two — giving him two homers on the day in two separate games — while driving in two runs and a sac fly to his credit as well.
Nacho Alvarez Jr. also had a solid night as he went 3-4 as well. It’s a nice sight from Alvarez Jr. who has struggled at the plate to begin the 2026 campaign.
(15-15) Columbus Clingstones , (13-17) Biloxi Shuckers (POSTPONED)
Rain continues to get in the way of Columbus getting on the field, as the Clingstones were rained out once again on Friday. They’ll pick up with a doubleheader against Biloxi on Saturday.
(16-15) Rome Emperors 13, (8-23) Asheville Tourists 8
- Eric Hartman, LF-CF: 3-5, HR, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 2 R, SB, Sac Fly
- Isaiah Drake, CF-RF: 4-6, HR, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, SB
- Dixon Williams, 2B: 2-4, 3 RBI, R, BB, SB, Sac Fly
- John Gil, DH: 2-4, 2 R, 2 BB, SB
- Colby Jones, 3B: 2-3, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB
- Jeremy Reyes, SP: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Rome moved to one game over .500 on the season thanks in part to a huge night for the offense as the Emperors plated 13 runs on 17 hits.
Simply put, Eric Hartman and Isaiah Drake were exceptional in this one, pacing the Emperors offense with one homer apiece, two doubles each, seven combined RBI, six total runs scored and a pair of stolen bases in the process.
Hartman got the party started with an RBI-double in the top of the first inning, scoring John Gil to give Rome a 1-0 lead. A Dixon Williams sac fly that scored Hartman extended the lead to 2-0 later in the inning.
Drake’s first big swing came in the next inning, as he laced a double into the right center field gap for an RBI-double of his own to extend the Rome lead to 4-0. A few batters later, Hartman came through once again — this time on a 3-1 changeup — as he launched a three-run homer over the right field wall. The homer was Hartman’s 10th longball of the year.
With his performance on the night, Hartman raised his OPS up to 1.052 through 114 at-bats.
Drake’s home run swing came in the top of the third as he pulled a 1-1 fastball over the right field fence for a solo shot to put the Emperors into double-digit territory on the night with a 10-0 lead.
While Hartman and Drake garnered most of the attention on the night, several other Emperors had a night to remember in this one.
Dixon Williams came through for Rome as he went 2-4 with 3 RBI and a stolen base on the night. While he only has 50 at-bats to his credit, Williams has been downright excellent since his return from injury, as he has five homers, 19 RBI and an OPS of 1.039 thus far.
John Gil and Colby Jones also had solid nights at the plate, as the former walked twice and scored twice with a stolen base, while the latter drove in a pair of runs and walked twice on his own.
(15-16) Augusta GreenJackets 0, (20-11) Charleston RiverDogs 3
- Dalton McIntyre, RF: 0-3, BB
- Tate Southisene, 2B: 0-4, 2 K
- Ethan Bagwell, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 K
We will try to keep this one short and sweet as there wasn’t much to write home about as Augusta was on the wrong end of a no-hitter on Friday night.
While the GreenJackets lost, it wasn’t due to the starting pitching, as Ethan Bagwell was excellent for Augusta.
Across five innings of work, Bagwell scattered just five hits while holding Charleston scoreless and striking out five. He also did not issue a single walk in the process. It is the second straight scoreless outing for Bagwell who has lowered his season ERA to 2.73 on the season.
In his 80 pitches on the night, Bagwell tossed 56 strikes while forcing five swings and misses in the process.
Reliever Kade Woods also had a solid outing, tossing two scoreless innings while striking out one on the night as well.
The lone baserunner for Augusta was Dalton McIntyre, who drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the eighth to spoil the perfect game.
